Couscous Salad Goes Past Pasta

Step beyond salads made with pasta or rice this summer and consider couscous, a pale, delicate grain that North Africans have served for centuries with a meat or vegetable stew on top.

Although it is made from wheat, couscous is the North African equivalent of rice, and it could be called a second cousin of German spatzle , although it does not contain egg and the granules are much smaller.

Steamed in a manner similar to rice, couscous takes about 20 minutes to prepare. Delicious when served hot, it is equally good at room temperature, making it perfect for use in salads. Many specialty food markets carry couscous, and it can be found in gourmet sections of supermarkets.

In addition to the couscous, this salad is built around shreds of cold cooked chicken (turkey, ham, veal or pork could be substituted), fresh shiitake mushrooms (cooked sauteed mushrooms also can be used) and assorted vegetables, which are speedily processed.

Consecutive Processing

Vegetables such as sweet red or yellow peppers, green onions, cucumber and carrots can be processed consecutively and left in the processor container, even though it is necessary to change from the slicing to the shredding disc. When all the vegetables are processed, the contents of the container can be transferred directly to the salad bowl.

Yellow or sweet red peppers add a decorative note to the salad. To create short julienne strips, peppers are cut lengthwise and inserted into the machine. When sliced, the width of the strips determines the sliced length, so half-inch-wide pepper strips will produce half-inch-long julienned peppers.

Another trick is to process cucumbers for the salad by quartering the cucumber lengthwise and inserting the cucumber upright in the food chute. When processed, the cucumbers are sliced into neat little wedges to create decorative garnishes with a refreshing crunch.

COUSCOUS SALAD

Cooked Couscous

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, wiped, stemmed and halved

2 dashes dried thyme

Salt, pepper

2 medium sweet red or yellow peppers, cored and seeded

6 medium green onions, roots removed

1 medium cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise and seeded

2 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise

1 1/2 cups cooked and coarsely shredded chicken

18 black olives, pitted, rinsed and quartered

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, minced

2/3 cup olive oil

Cool Cooked Couscous. Stir with hands to remove any lumps, then set aside. Combine raisins with boiling water, then cover and set aside 30 minutes.

In large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add shiitakes and toss over medium-high heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Toss mushrooms with thyme and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add to couscous bowl.

Cut peppers lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Insert medium (4-millimeter) slicing disc in food processor. Place peppers upright in machine and slice with gentle push. Dangle-slice green onion bottoms by lowering through food chute with motor on. Set green onion tops aside. Insert cucumber wedges upright in food chute and slice with gentle push.

Without emptying processor, change to medium shredding disc. Place carrots sideways in food chute and shred with firm push. Empty contents of container into bowl with couscous. Cut green onion tops crosswise by hand, then add to bowl with drained raisins, chicken and olives. Toss to mix thoroughly.

Mix lemon juice, mint leaves and 2/3 cup olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over salad and toss thoroughly. Let stand 30 minutes and adjust seasoning. Serve at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

Cooked Couscous

1 medium onion, peeled and cubed

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

1 pound (3 cups) couscous

Insert metal blade in processor. Coarsely chop onion with half-second pulses, then transfer to 4-quart soup kettle. Add olive oil and stir over low heat until onion softens, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken broth, water and salt to kettle and heat to boiling. Stir in couscous. Heat to simmering, then turn off heat, cover and set aside to steam 15 minutes. Uncover and spread couscous in large bowl.